Hypodermic syringe with hood for guarding and concealing the needle



Feb. 16, 1960 c. D. CRAIG HYPODERMIC SYRINGE WITH Hoon FOR GUARDING AND CONCEALING THE NEEDLE Filed Dec. 27, 1957 p4 w $9.16. .HF .bv

United States Patent() IHYPODERMIC SYRINGE `W1TH HOOD FOR .GUARDING AND CONCEALING THE NEEDLE `Clarence D. Craig, Arlington Heights, Ill.

Application December 27, 1957, Serial No. 705,711

3 Claims. (Cl. 12S- 218) This invention relates to hypodermic syringes or the like, of the type employed by dentists and physieiansfor :injectingi'zdrugs or other liuids into body tissues.

:One object of thepresent invention is to providea new :aridsimproved lhypoderimc syringe having means, such as ahood or the like, for concealing and guarding the hypodermicneedleuntil the syringe is actually in position for hypodermic syringe which is convenient for dental use, tsollthat :the syringe .may be inserted into `the patients zmouthwith `the needle concealedtand guarded, and so that ethe .needle may then be readily extended, out of the sight of the patient.

It is a further. objectwto provide `a-new and improved -hodattachmenuadapted `to Vbe mounted on existing or @standard .hypodermic syringes, so that theV hypodermic sneedle maybe concealed and guarded until in position for actual use.

Another object is `to provide new and `improved hood `arrangements of the `foregoing character which are effec- :.tive.' and `.highly serviceable yet `are easy to manufacture A.andilowfin cost.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention uwill l.appear from `the following description, taken with theiaccompanying drawings in which:

iEig. listan elevational view of an hypodermic syringe equipped with a hood arrangement vto bedescribed as an illustrative embodiment of the present invention, the syringeifbeing shown with the hood extended to conceal and guard the hypodermic needle.

Eig. 2 isa view similar to Fig. 1,.but withthe hood retracted to expose the needle.

Figi?, is afragmental enlarged elevational viewtshowingthe hood arrangement'in central longitudinal section, the hood being shown in extended position.

`:1`1,ig.\4 is `a view similar to Fig..:3,uwith thehood retracted to expose the nedle.

It will be seen that the drawings illustrate a hypodermic syringe 10, having a body 12, with a hypodermic needle 14 at its front end. These elements may be of any known or suitable construction. However, the illustrated syringe has a novel hood portion 16, whereby the needle 14 may be concealed and guarded. lt will be apparent from the drawings that the hood 16 and the needle 14 are relatively movable so that the needle 14 may be concealed, as in Fig. 1 and Fig. 3, or extended, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4.

The needle concealing and guarding arrangement of the present invention might well be built into a syringe as originally manufactured. However, the drawings illustrate the hood 16 in the form of an attachment which may readily be mounted on the syringe 10, which may be of a Patented Feb. 111e, 19Go ICE 2 standard or existing type. No 4modification of the syringe A10`=is required tov mount the hood attachment thereon.

The `syringe'10 may be constructed in various ways. As illustrated, the body 12 is generally cylindrical or tubular `and is ofthe type adapted to receive a transparent tubular.

`cartridge I8, containing drugs or the like. `The tubular bodyi12 is formed `with longitudinal openings or slots 20 on its opposite sides, so that the cartridge may readily be seen. i

The illustrated syringe `10 has a plunger 22, adapted to be pushed into the cartridge 18, so as to force the con- `tentsthereof outwardly through the hypodermic needle F14. A tingeror hand piece 24 is mounted on the rear -endof 'the plunger 2,2, for applyingtpressure thereto.

"As illustrated, the body 12 is provided with a `closure :membertatits rear end. `A thumbfscrew 23 normally retains the closure member 26 in place. By loosening ,the thumb-screw 28, and withdrawing the plunger 22, the :closure member26 may beswung aside for removal and `insertion of drug cartridges, such as the cartridge 1S. It iwill be-seen that two oppositely extending linger grips30 larefprovided `on the member 26.

ments'might lne-employed, but this arrangement is highly `advantageousabecause it requires no modification of the basic `syringe 10.

`The illustrated -hood 16 has a generally cylindrical main or rear portion 40, with an internal cylindrical surface142, adapted to slide along the mounting ring 36. The hood portion 40 is telescopically--movable over the body .i12 of the syringe.

Atits1front end the illustrated hood 16 has a tapering znose. portion 44, with a small axial opening 46- in its front end. It will be seen that the opening 46 is adapted .toreceive the :needle .14 with a slip fit, so as `to guide the 'needle as thehood is slid therealong between the extended Aaridi-retracted.positions of Figs. 3 and 4. `In Fig. 3, the needle 14 is shown fully concealed,`withtthe extreme front end of `:theneedle disposed within the opening 46. In rIifgal,.thexneedlez 14 is `fully extended fthrough Vthe openfingfl46. Theretracting movementuofthe-hood 16 may be Elimitedfby the engagement `ofthenose Aportion 44 .withthe nut 34.

As shown, the nose portion 44 is formed asa separate ...elementwhichiis .threadediinto'the'frontend of the cylin- .dricalthOOdaportiOni/ll). This arrangement greatly/facilitates the mounting of the hood attachment on the syringe 10, and the removal of the hood attachment therefrom.

The relatively movable needle and hood portion enable the needle to be concealed and guarded until the syringe is in position for actual use. Thus, for example, the syringe may be inserted by a dentist into the patients mouth with the needle concealed, to avoid unnecessarily frightening the patient. When the needle is out of the sight of the patient, the hood may be retracted to expose the needle for use.

In the illustrated construction, the retraction of the hood is facilitated by providing a spring 48, which biases the hood rearwardly and thus is adapted to move the hood to its retracted position. The illustrated spring 48 is of the coiled compression type and is positioned within the cylindrical hood portion 40, between the mounting ring 36 and a shoulder 50, formed within the 56 is provided at the rear end of the leaf spring 54 to mount the spring on the cylindrical body wall 12, at

Vthe rear end of one of the slots 20. The front end of in the form of a flexible resilient leaf or strip. A clip i the spring 54 normally springs outwardly and is adapted to engage a rearwardly facing shoulder 58 formed in the hood 16, near the rear end thereof. f

The catch 54 is released simply by pressing it inwardly toward the body y12, to disengage the catch from the shoulder S8. The spring 48 then pushes the hood 16 rearwardly to expose the needle 14. The hood 16 may be extended manually until the catch 54 again springs outwardly behind the shoulder 58.

Thus, the dentist or physician may readily retract the the hood 16, after moving the syringe to its position of use with the needle 14 concealed by the hood. Even in cramped quarters, such as in the mouth of a dental patient, it is a simple matter to press the catch spring 54 to release the hood 16, for rearward movement by the resilient action of the spring 4S.

It has been found that patients are often aiectedto a greater extent by the apprehension or fear at seeing a hypodermic needle than they are by the slight pain involved in inserting the needle into body tissue. This is particularly true of children. Thus, it is very advantageous to conceal and guard the needle until theV syringe is moved into a position in which the needle is out of the sight of the patient.

It will be apparent that the illustrated hood arrangement is exceedingly easy to use. It may readily be mounted ou a standard or existing syringe. At the same time the invention might readily be applied to a syringe as originally manufactured, so as to provide for a needle and a hood portion adapted for relative movement to conceal and expose the needle.

The present hood attachment is easy to assemble and disassemble and may readily be cleaned and sterilized. It may be made of any suitable materials, such as metal or plastic.

With all of these advantages, the hood arrangement is easy to manufacture and low in cost, and thus may readily be made available in large quantities to dentists Aand physicians generally.

Various modications, alternative constructions and equivalents may be employed without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention as exemplilied in the foregoing description and defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a hypodermic syringe, the combination comprising an elongated body, a hollow hypodermic needle exaeaaoss tending from the front end of said body, an annular nut threaded onto the front end of said body for holding said needle thereon, a mounting ring with a flange thereon removably secured between said nut and said body, a tubular hood telescopically received over said body and said needle for concealing and guarding said needle, said lhood having a nose portion with an axial guide opening therein slidably received over said needle for movement therealong, said hood being slidably retractable and extensible along said body and said needle for selectively uncovering said needle, a spring acting between said ring and said hood for resiliently retracting said hood, and a manually releasable catch for retaining said hood in its extended position against the resilient action of said spring.

2. An attachment for use with a hypodermic syringe having a body with a hypodermic needle secured to the front end thereof by a hollow nut, said attachment comprising a mounting ring having an inwardlyV directed ange adapted to be secured between the nut and the body of said syringe, a generally tubular hood adapted to conceal and guard the needle on the syringe, said hood being slidable over said mounting ring and having a nose portion with an opening therein adapted to slide along the needle, a spring acting between said ring and said hood for resiliently retracting said hood to expose the needle, and manually releasable catch means adapted to act between said body and said hood to detain said v hood in its extended position around the needle against the resilient action of said spring.

3. In a hypodermic syringe, the combination comprising an elongated generally cylindrical body, a hypodermic needle extending forwardly from said body, a hollow nut threaded onto the front end of said body for securing said needle thereto, a mounting ring having an inwardly directed flange disengageably secured between said nut and said body, a generally tubular hood for concealing and guarding said needle, said hood having a generally cylindrical rear portion slidable over said ring and received around said body, said hood having a tapering'nose portion with an axial opening therein slidably received around said needle, said hood `having a forwardly facing internal shoulder disposed rearwardly of said ring, a compression coil spring acting between said ring and said shoulder for biasing said hood into its retracted position with said needle extended through said opening, and a manually releasable catch acting between said body and said hood to detain said hood in its extended position over said needle against the resilient action of said spring.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Belgium June 14, 1952 

